Toll tender device



May 2, 1967 E. c. WARE 3,316,924

TOLL TENDER DEVI GE Filed Oct. 25, 1965 coins in the dispenser are exposed to view, the

United States Patent Office 3,316,924 Patented May 2, 1967 3,316,924 TOLL TENDER DEVICE Elizabeth C. Ware, 611 Edgewood Place, River Forest, ill. 60305 Filed Oct. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 503,162 7 Claims. (Cl. 133-1) This invention relates to a coin dispenser and more particularly to a coin dispenser which is adapted for attachment to the dashboard of an automobile to dispense coins for tolls.

When driving on turnpikes, or on other toll roads, the driver of the car is required to stop to pay tolls. The driver must then search through his pockets for the necessary change. This searching usually entails considerable fumbling, particularly when the driver is wearing a seat belt. When the coins are finally located, they are often dropped on the floor of the car, or otherwise lost in the effort to extract them from the drivers pockets. On many occasions the driver will spend considerable time fumbling through his pockets, only to discover that he does not have the necessary change.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a coin dispenser which eliminates time-consuming search ing and fumbling for coins with which to pay tolls.

, Another object of this invention is to provide a coin dispenser which is easily attached to the dashboard of an automobile.

Another object of this invention is to provide a coin dispenser which allows the driver of an automobile to tell at a glance how many coins he has of a particular denomination.

Another object of this invention is to provide a coin dispenser in which the coins are retained against falling out of the dispenser.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the coin dispenser attached to the dashboard of an automobile;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the base of the coin dispenser and the means for attaching the base to the dashboard of an automobile;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the coin dispenser;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the coin dispenser; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the coin dispenser and the means for retaining the coins in the dispenser.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown in FIG. 1 the dashboard of an automobile. The coin dispenser 12 is attached to the dashboard 10. The coin dispenser 12 provides means for retaining the coins 14, cards 15, such as credit cards, and the paper currency 18. It is apparent that the coin dispenser 12 retains the cards, coins and paper currency in a position wherein they are accessible to the driver of the automobile. Since the driver can tell at a glance how many of a particular denomination of coins he has in the dispenser, and how much currency is retained under the dispenser.

The means for attaching the coin dispenser 12 to the dashboard of the car is shown in FIG. 2. The base of the coin dispenser is connected to the dashboard 10 through the use of strips of Velcro or a similar material. The strip 22 is attached to the base 20 by adhesive means 23 which has been applied to the back of the strip 22. The face of the strip 22 has a plurality of hooks 24 which extend from the surface of the strip 22. The hooks 24 are designed to become enmeshed with the fibrous material 26- of the strip 28. The strip 28 has an adhesive coating on the back of the strip. The adhesive coating 30 is designed to attach the strip 28 to the dashboard of a car. The protective cover strip 31 is removed from the adhesive coating 30 immediately before the base 20 is attached to the dashboard 10. When the hooks 24 are pressed into the fibrous material 26, the strip 22 and the base means of the coin dispenser are held by the strip 28 against movement on the dashboard of the car.

The characteristics of the Velcro strips are such that the dispenser may be easily disconnected from the dashboard of the car. To disconnect the dispenser from the dashboard of the car, it is merely necessary to grasp the front portion of the base member 20 and to lift the entire coin dispenser vertically. The hooks 24, on the strip 22,- will pull out of the fibrous material 26, on the strip 28. The dispenser, with the strip 22 attached to the base, will be separated from the strip 28 on the dashboard of the car. This construction facilitates the removal of the-coin dispensing means with its coins, credit cards and currency, from the dashboard of the car when the car is parked. Thus, the money may be easily removed from the car and thereby removing the dispenser from the sight of a would be thief who looks through the window of a car. If the coin dispenser were not removable from the car when the car was parked, the currency and credit cards could be readily seen by any person passing the automo bile and glancing in the window of the automobile.

The coin receiving portion of the coin dispenser is most clearly shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The coin receiver has a plurality of grooves 32into which the coins 14 are inserted. The grooves 32 are formed so that the upper shoulder portion 34 of the groove encompasses more than one-half of the circumference of the coin 14 (see FIG. 5). This encompassing portion 34 of the grooves 32 prevents the coins 14 from falling out of the grooves 32 if the coin dispenser should be accidentally tilted. The bottoms of the grooves 32 are angled upwardly with respect to the base 20 of the coin dispenser. As is best seen in FIG. 3, the upward angling of the bottom of the groove 32 causes the coins 14 to slide to the lower end of the grooves 32. Thus, the coins 14 will all tend to gravitate toward the end of the grooves 32 which is closest to the driver of the automobile. At this end of the grooves 32 the encompassing shoulder portion 34 of the grooves are eliminated at a coin dispensing area 36. In this coin dispensing area of the grooves 32 the sides of the grooves do not encompass more than one-half of the circumference of the coin 14. The shoulder portion 34 of the groove terminates at the edge 37 (see FIG. 4). The coin dispensing area 36 is only wide enough to permit one coin to be removed at a time. Thus, the coins 1 may be removed merely by displacing them vertically, at the dispensing area 36, relative to the base of the groove 32. This facilitates the removal of an individual coin by the driver who, merely by lifting the coin with his thumb, may remove the coin from the dispenser.

It is envisioned that, when a plurality of coins 14 are contained in the grooves 32, the forefinger of the driver will be placed on the back surface of the uppermost coin, while the thumb will contact the front surface of the lowermost coin. The forefinger will be utilized to press the coins to the bottom of the grooves 32, while the thumb slides the foremost coin from the groove. The lower portion of the groove 32 has a coin positioning means 38 at the end of the groove 32. This coin positioning means 38 prevents the coins l4from falling out of the groove 32 and provides a means for positioning the coins in the dispensing area 36. The other end of the groove 32 terminates at the retaining ring 40 which prevents the coins 14 from falling out of the back of the groove 32.

Thus, a coin 14 is positioned relative to the dispensing area 36 of the coin dispenser and may be easily removed with one hand of the driver of the automobile. Since the dispensing area 36 has sufiicient width to enable only one coin to pass beyond the encompassing shoulder portion 34 of the groove 24, only a single coin can be removed from the dispensing area 36 at a time.

The coins 14 may be inserted into the coin dispenser by placing the axis of the coin 14 parallel to the longitudinal axis of the groove 32. The coin is then lowered into the groove 32 and rotated until its axis is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the groove 32 (see FIG. 3). After the coin has been positioned with its axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the groove 32 it is slid down onto the pile of coins 14 which are already placed in the grooves 32. Thus, any change received at a toll booth may be easily placed in the proper groove of the coin dispenser.

The base is connected to the coin receiving portion of the coin dispenser by the flange 42 which extends at g an angle from the upper surface of the base 20. This flange 42 is engaged by the slot 44 at the back end of the coin receiving portion of the dispenser. The connection between the slot 44 and flange 42 is such that the coin receiving portion may be lifted from the front portion of the base member while the flange 42 is still engaged by the slot 44. This lifting movement is facilitated by the shape of the slot 44. It should be noted in FIG. 3 that the sides of the slot 44 are of different lengths, that is, the member 46 on the interior surface of the flange 42 is shorter than the member 48 on the exterior surface of the flange 42. Thus, when the front portion of the coin receiver is lifted, a gap 50 is formed at the front of the coin dispenser between the coin receiver and the base of the coin dispenser (see FIG. 2).

Paper currency or other sheets of material 18 may be inserted into the gap 50. The bottom surface of the grooves 32 have a depending rib 52 which extends below the front surface 54 of the coin receiver. This rib 52 is normally received by the recess 56 in the base 20. When paper currency 18 is inserted between the base 20 and the coin receiver, by lifting the coin receiver vertically, the rib 52 is lifted out of the recess 56. When the coin receiver is released the rib 52 will bear against the paper currency 18 and hold the paper currency 18 relative to the base of the coin dispenser. The side members 58 of the coin receiver will also bear against the upper surface of the paper currency 18, helping to retain the paper currency against the base member 20. This novel construction permits the coin dispenser 12 to hold paper currency 18 in such a position that it may be easily seen and removed by the driver of the automobile for the payment of tolls which are sufficiently large so as to require payment with paper currency.

As is best shown in FIG. 4, there are a plurality of slots 60 in the upper surface of the coin receiver. These slots 60 are adapted to hold credit cards 16 and similarly shaped objects. The slots 60 are formed in the upper surface 62 between the coin receiving grooves 32.

The two center slots 50 have a tongue 64 which, when a card is inserted into one of the center grooves 64), causes the card to bend and thereby firmly grip a relatively thin card. The card, when inserted into one of the center grooves 60, will bend above the tongue 64 and the corners 66, as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 4. Thus, the center slots 60 are particularly adapted to the retention of relatively thin cards or a single card. The outer slots are normally used to hold a relatively thick card, or several cards.

The coin dispenser 12, as is seen from the foregoing description, is capable of dispensing coins 14, holding a plurality of credit cards 16, and paper currency 18 in a position where they are all easily accessible to the driver of an automobile. The means utilized to attach the coin dispenser, i.e., the strips 22 and 28, are such that the coin dispenser may be easily removed from the automobile when the car is left for a period of time. Since all of the currency is clearly visible to the driver, he can tell at a glance when he comes to a toll stop the amount of currency which he has. Since the currency, coins and credit cards are all firmly retained by the coin dispenser, they will not come loose when the car is driven around a corner or sharp embankment.

While only three grooves 32 have been shown, for the retention of coins, i.e., for nickels, dimes and quarters, it would be apparent to one skilled in the art that the coin dispenser 12 could easily be adapted to dispense more than three denominations of coins. While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown, it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, since many modifications may be made; and it is contemplated to cover by the appended claims any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A coin dispenser comprising: base means, connection means attached to said base means to operatively connect said base means to an automobile dashboard, coin receiving means, means connecting said coin receiving means to said base means, and card retention means connected to said coin receiving means, said means connecting said coin receiving means to said base means including a flange extending from an edge portion of said base means and a slot in said coin receiving means adapted to enclose said flange, and wherein the opposite end portion of said base means has a plurality of recesses, said recesses cooperating with ribs extending from said coin receiving means, said cooperating ribs and recesses providing means for retaining paper currency.

2. The coin dispenser of claim 1, wherein side portions of said coin receiving means contact said base means and are also adapted to retain paper currency or other sheets between said coin receiving means and said base means.

3. A coin dispenser comprising: base means, connection means attached to said base means to operatively connect said base means to an automobile dashboard, coin receiving means, means connecting said coin receiving means to said base means, and card retention means connected to said coin receiving means, said coin receiving means comprising a plurality of grooves, longitudinal sides of said grooves being formed so as to encompass slightly more than one half of the circumference of coins placed in said grooves, said grooves being positioned with their longitudinal axes substantially parallel, said axes being positioned at an acute angle to said base means, said coin receiving means further including means for dispensing the coins located at an end portion of said grooves to permit one coin at a time to be removed from each of said grooves, sald card retention means comprising a plurality of slots having their longitudinal axes substantially parallel to the axes of said grooves, said means connecting said coin receiving means to said base means comprising a flange extending from the first edge portion of said base means and a slot in said coin receiving means adapted to enclose said flange, said base means including a plurality of recesses cooperating with ribs extending from said coin receiving means, said cooperating ribs and recesses providing means for retaining paper currency and other sheets, and said connection means to operatively connect said base means to said dashboard comprising a first strip means attached to said base means and a second strip means attached to said dashboard, wherein one of said strip means has a plurality of hook means and the other of said strip means is covered with a fibrous material designed to become enmeshed in said hook means to operatively interconnect said first and second strip means.

4. A coin dispenser comprising: a base means, connection means attached to said base means for connecting said base means to a dashboard of an automobile, coin said receiving means mounted on said base means, said coin receiving means including a plurality of grooves, said grooves having arcuate longitudinal sides for engaging a major portion of a radially outer surface of a coin placed in said grooves, blocking means positioned at a first end portion of said grooves to retain coins from being removed from the first end portion of said grooves, dispensing means positioned at a second opposite end portion of said grooves for dispensing the coins from said grooves, said dispensing means being formed to enable only a single coin at a time to be removed from one of grooves, and slots formed in said coin receiving means intermediate said grooves for retaining cards against movement relative to said coin receiving means.

5. A coin dispenser comprising: a base means, connection means attached to said base means for connecting said base means to a dashboard of an automobile, coin receiving means mounted on said base means, said coin receiving means including a plurality of grooves, said grooves having arcuate longitudinal sides for engaging a major portion of a radially outer surface of a coin placed in said grooves, blocking means positioned at a first end portion of said grooves to retain coins from being removed from the first end portion of said grooves, and dispensing means positioned at a second opposite end portion of said grooves for dispensing the coins from said grooves, said dispensing means being formed to enable only a single coin at a time to be removed from one of said grooves, said coin receiving means being movable from a first position in abutting engagement with said base means to a second position in which at least an outer edge portion of said coin receiving means is spaced apart from said base means to retain paper currency intermediate said coin receiving means and said base means.

'6. An assembly for holding coins and paper currency, said assembly comprising: a base means; and a coin receiving means having a first end portion connected to said base means and a second end portion including a plurality of outwardly extending ribs, said coin receiving means being movable relative to said base means from a first position in which the second end portion of said coin receiving means is positioned in abutting engagement with said base means to a second position in which the second end portion of said coin receiving means is spaced apart from said base means and said outwardly extending ribs clampingly retain currency intermediate said second end portion of said coin receiving means and said base means.

7. An assembly for holding coins and paper currency, said assembly comprising: a base means; and a coin receiving means having a first end portion connected to said base means, said coin receiving means being movable relative to said base means from a first position in which a second end portion of said coin receiving means is positioned in abutting engagement with said base means to a second position in which said second end portion of said coin receiving means is spaced apart from said base means to clampingly retain currency intermediate said second end portion of said coin receiving means and said base means, said coin receiving means including a plurality of grooves having arcuate side surfaces for retaining abutting engagement with radially outer surfaces of coins positioned in said grooves; said coin receiving means further including slots positioned intermediate said grooves for holding card means against movement relative to said coin receiving means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner. STANLEY H. TOLDBERG, Examiner, 

1. A COIN DISPENSER COMPRISING: BASE MEANS, CONNECTION MEANS ATTACHED TO SAID BASE MEANS TO OPERATIVELY CONNECT SAID BASE MEANS TO AN AUTOMOBILE DASHBOARD, COIN RECEIVING MEANS, MEANS CONNECTING SAID COIN RECEIVING MEANS TO SAID BASE MEANS, AND CARD RETENTION MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID COIN RECEIVING MEANS, SAID MEANS CONNECTING SAID COIN RECEIVING MEANS TO SAID BASE MEANS INCLUDING A FLANGE EXTENDING FROM AN EDGE PORTION OF AID BASE MEANS AND A SLOT IN SAID COIN RECEIVING MEANS ADAPTED TO ENCLOSE SAID FLANGE, AND WHEREIN THE OPPOSITE END PORTION OF SAID BASE MEANS HAS A PLURALITY OF RECESSES, SAID RECESSES COOPERATING WITH RIBS EXTENDING FROM SAID COIN RECEIVING MEANS, SAID COOPERATING RIBS AND RECESSES PROVIDING MEANS FOR RETAINING PAPER CURRENCY. 